The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-12-16
Millions Are Homeless and Starving
Greatest Calamity Of Modern Times.
A Densely-Populated Plain Suddenly
Converted Into Sea of Water.
Russia That Is Moving Toward War, but
Austria and Germany-Cable News.
A CALAMITY IN CHINA.
Eleven PopuIous Cities Innndated-The Loss
of Life Beyond Computation.


of Life Beyond Computation.
SAN FRANCISCO. Dec 15.-The steamship
City of Sydney arrived this afternoon from
Hong Kong and Yokohama. Chinese papers
give details of disaster occasoned by the yell
low river overfowing it's banks in the province
of Honan, and describes it of the most
appalling occurrences in loss of life and prop
erty recorded in recent times.a The river broke
its banks the evening of Sept. %, southwest
of the city of Ching Chow. and not only COM
pletely inundated that city. but also ten other
populous cities. The whole area is now a raging
sea, ten TO thirty feet deep, where
densely populated ard rich plain. The former
bed of the Yellow river is now dry, and the
present lake was the bed Of the river centuries
ago. The loss of life is incalculable, and the
staten ent is made by missionaries that millions
Of Chinese are homeless and starving Thomas
Patton. one of the American missionaries, writ
ing from Honan province, under date of Oct.
%, says:
''The newly gathered crops. houses and trees
all swept way, involving fearful loss OF
life. The country was covered with a fine win
ter grain, which is gone and implies complete
destruction to next years crop. Bread bread
is the cry of thousands who the rivers
banks. Benevolent people go in boats and
throw bread among the masses here and there.
but it is nothing compared with the require
ments The mass of people is still being increased
by continual arrivals even more hungry than
the last. There they sit stunned, hungry and
detected. without rag to wear or morsel of
food. Mat huts are being erected for them.
What it will be in two months canot conceive.
The misery is increased owing to the bitter cold
weather"
Yellow river has long been known as China's
sorrow. and the present disaster has served to
reassert its right to the terrible title. AS yet
details of the disaster very meager. 1t has
occurred in a district where but few foreigners
are. and the report furnished by the officials
published in the Pekin Gazette conveys very
inadequate account of the extent of the loss Of life
and property and the sufferings of the survivors.
The Governor in Honan reports to the throne
that nearly oil people have been drowned in
the district reached by the water, the survivors
being those who escaped to the high ground or
took refuge in trees. where they remained until
they were rescued" This gives but little i'm
preston as to what the extent of the disaster
really is.
The Chinese Times, ia the province of
Pechili where disastrous inundations have also
occurred, says there 100000 people home
less, representing those whose lives were de-
stroyed, and adds that the misery in that prov
ince is trifling compared with that caused by
the Hoang -Ho. or Yellow river. The extent OF
ground swept over by the flood, given in English
figures, is over 1000 square miles, and the land
thus submerged formed a part of of the
richest and most densey populated plains Of
northern China. The necessity for liberal aid
may therefore be imagined. Already consider
relieving sufferers. The Emperor of China
has given two millions of taels. and the Chinese
have started subscription lists in Shanghai to
which foreigners have literally contributed.
Millions have been rendered homeless and
entirely deprived of all chance of earning their
livelihood, for their fields will either become
permanent lakes or uninhabitable swamps It
is feared that the distress which will be felt
during the coming winter will equal in intensity
the famine of ten years ago, when charitable
donations contributed from all parts of the world
were utterly inadequate. 1t is stated that
owing to the action taken by the Yellow river,
it no longer flows toward the sea. but seems
northern Nganwhi into a lake